its support for syria's president assad, in the wake of last week's chemical attack. foreign ministers from the g7 group have been meeting in italy, trying for a co—ordinated response — which could include new sanctions on moscow and damascus. the american carrier, united airlines, has been much criticised for having one of its passengers dragged off a flight in chicago. the airline had overbooked the plane, and when no—one volunteered to leave, to let some of united's staff on board, they selected the man and his travelling companion at random. the oil company shell has admitted that they dealt with a convicted money—launderer when negotiating access to a vast oil field off the coast of nigeria in 2011. shell went ahead with the deal even though they were on probation for their involvement in a separate corruption case in nigeria. police in manchester said the number of people abusing the drug spice has

reached epidemic proportions. they say they had to deal with around 60 spice related incidents over the weekend and have launched extra patrols. slumped, zombie—like and barely conscious. we're told he's just taken spice. another man metres away with similar symptoms. and everyone we speak to on the streets knows where to get it. around the central area, just round anywhere, really. just anywhere. some in this drop—in centre for homeless people say they've felt the effects. just like chill but, like, you're in space and then one minute you're taking it and the next you get hooked and lose control. and others say the problem's not going away. it's a lot worse now than it was before, a lot worse. the reason why they're on this spice is because it is cheap. it is only £5 bag, weed is £10 a bag, so they're all going for the spice

because it's cheaper. the drug is a synthetic form of cannabis but can be much more potent and is highly addictive. after being made illegal last year it is now sold on the streets. spice is a drug often associated with people sleeping rough. but police tell me it affects people of all ages all over the city and the problem is getting worse. the force says it received nearly 60 spice—related calls over the weekend causing a drain on resources. there was a number of areas round here such as primark, the fast—food outlets like burger king, round here mcdonald's, and morrisons where there were groups that had congregated and participated in spice and the reactions were quite adverse. at the moment our attention is being focused on the safeguarding and dealing with the users. where actually we want to be doing more work against the dealers, and that's where our focus will be over the coming weeks. i spoke to one paramedic who confirmed the symptoms we'd witnessed.

people becoming very spaced out, very odd behaviour, collapsing to the floor or being stuck in one position. what we're seeing is someone‘s behaviour getting to such a level that they are physically trying to attack our staff. we've seen people rocking back and forth sat down, with evidence that the use of psychoactive drugs like spice is an rise in other parts of the country, here in manchester is another man colla pses, here in manchester is another man collapses, there is little sign that this problem is going away. now on bbc news: the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show, i meet the people who are cleaning up the canals of bangkok. we've got so much just rubbish. we are searching for the secret sights of new york city. this view is incredible. and heading to italy to taste some of turin‘s finest chocolates. wow.

hello, and welcome to the travel show, coming to you this week from the capital of thailand, bangkok. it's a vibrant city packed with sparkling temples, skyscrapers and night markets, but home to some of the most congested roads in the world, and getting across the city through the tuk tuks and the traffic is a bit of a nightmare. but i'm here to find out what's being done to take the people off the frantic streets and on to the city's waterways. first built over 200 years ago, bangkok's huge network of canals criss—cross the city. this is thailand, bangkok, the venice of the east, where water is in

everyone‘s way of life. over the years, some of the canals, or ‘khlongs‘ as they're called here, were filled in, but an extensive system still exists today. saen saep canal is an important artery in the network and 100,000 people travel on it every day. but hopping onto one of the boats as a tourist looks daunting, to say the least. take a look at this — these commuter boats quite literally wait for not a single person. you'll see as soon as it docks, everybody leaps for their lives off it. and we are going to be right in the melee. people get splashed, maybe even fall into the river itself. the canal. you don't want to go in there — the water is dark, dingy, and very, very smelly. here comes another one. the pollution is caused

by waste from houses, stalls and restaurants that line the sides of the canal. now, work is underway to clear up the khlongs and improve boat services. by doing that, it is hoped more people and tourists will use bangkok's waterways, and congestion on the city roads will be reduced. this doctor manages the clean—up teams that work on the canals. we've been travelling through this canal for quite a while. going through all the skyscrapers, all the way through the middle of bangkok. this is one of the main boats that are cleaning by hand these canals. you can see the amount of rubbish, the plastics, the leaves, that could clog up this place. hard work. and they do this every single day. you have to clean the canal, of course, but how to clean it? you have to prohibit people to throw away what they don't need

into the canals. so, do you think it's about educating the local thais and not throwing their rubbish? yes, of course. that is very important. education is very important — especially the younger generation. further down the canal, i see just how much of a challenge is facing the cleaning crews here. and what they have here is these bamboo booms which are collecting all of the rubbish. and this is where they crane it out of the water, literally, with a huge machine here. you can just have a look at what actually floats up. insane. so much polystyrene. there's old teddy bears, mattresses. have a look at that. so how often do they have to take all of this out? twice a day.

twice a day?! you've got so much... just, rubbish...! what are the types of things that washed down? anything and everything? even furniture! something like that. so people just throw couches, refrigerators, whatever they don't want, they throw it in the river? yes, yes! i've got to say, the smell coming off the water itself is very rancid. very sort of seweresque. not very nice at all, not pleasant. time now to get away from the smell, and head to one of several canals, that has already been cleaned up. and new boat services are already running. looks nice from afar. look at that — seats! not too packed,

so that's always good. i've got to say that this is so much more of a calmer way of seeing the city. i don't know if it's the time of evening, when it's kind of golden—lighted. but it's smooth. there's no sort of smell of that nasty water. and, the plus for tourists, there's wi—fi! because who can't go without wi—fi these days? look at that, straight to a beautiful temple — that's the benefit of travelling by these waterways. no traffic, no fuss. it's hoped cleaning up the khlongs won'tjust help to ease traffic on the congested roads, but will mean more tourists go and explore the floating markets and canal—side communities that are a big part of the city's heritage.

so this is our boat for the day? amazing! long tail boat. the james bond boat! this man runs longboats to an area where some of the traditional wooden houses have been restored. so where are we heading now? we're heading into the one that is for the old—fashioned market, and we are going to see the artist's house. how long has it been there for? oh it's about — a long time ago... before 1782, before bangkok city was even built. in the 18th century, hundreds of stilted houses like this would have lined the canal. that's how they get across the canals themselves —

these motorbikes have to come over these very steep bridges. so people still live here. yes. amazing. slanting at all sorts of weird angles. because of the — how old this place is. these old thai puppets. they open this place to be an artist house, for any artist to come and enjoy making a masterpiece. the last thing i sort of expected while coming here was seeing this rather eccentric place. you know, the artist need some feeling and emotion to create their masterpiece. 0r their things. this is a beautiful area to get that stuff. the clean—up has already gone a long way in restoring the canals

to theirformer glory, but for the project to be a lasting success, the community here also has a big part to play in protecting the amazing system of waterways that help make bangkok so special. time now for this week's global gourmet. coming to you from the rolling countryside of lancashire, in the north—west of england, where they are cooking up a new twist on a traditional dish. the first thing about using all of the food from the local area is that everybody helps each other. another fact is that the boned beef and mutton isjust so good. because of the rain, we had lots of grass, that is what they eat, and it makes fantastic produce. you want to encourage people to eat what is from within the region.

because we think there is enough of it around. plenty to go around. and to populate the menu, yeah. why would you order a lancashire hot pot? first, why not, because you are in lancashire, and it is a nice old traditional dish from the industrial revolution. it is a one pot dish, cooked in an earthen ware pot and slow cooked in an oven for quite a while. it is delicious. it is hearty. it is robust, it warms your cockles on a winter's day and when you're eating it, you really feel you are having a flash of the countryside in your dish. and then you've got this lovely onion, quite a lot of the onion, very important, this onion,

it adds a lot of sweetness. not only do we have a hotpot, we have a beautiful light very sort of sexy modern dish that you can eat. you're not going to feel heavy and stodgy. "we're up north, it's really heavy, it's full of fat." that is so removed from what we do with our hot pot. there we are. this is the lancashire hotpot. beautiful gorgeous melting lamb underneath, fragrant, clean, clear light broth. gorgeous crispy, crunchy topping. lancashire hotpot, what a lovely dish. stay with us, coming up... with easter on the way, we had to italy, to take a look tour around the world famous chocolate shops of turin.

the travel show, your essential guide, wherever you're headed. next it's secret city, this week coming to you from new york. it's a place be seen so often in the movies that many people feel like they know it already, even if they've never been. we've sentjo whalley to find a hidden side to the big apple. to kick off, she's heading to times square to meet travel bloggerjessie festa, who's put together a list of things for her to uncover, starting with an audible artwork that underneath the city's streets. here we are. do you hear anything down there? humming i can hear like a... she hums it's actually an art installation from the ‘70s, the sky max newhouse installed it. no sign. he wanted you to be able to find it on your own. if you put your ear right to it, you can hear it clearly.

yeah! which most people aren't... crawling on the ground but it's pretty cool. next i'm off to find some lunch. new york is famous for its diners and delis butjessie‘s sent me to find a restuarant that's a bit different because it operates out of a loading bay. i think this must be it. ifeel like i'm walking into a factory. i know you were coming, i make a nice piece of pork for you. that is impressive pork! yes. tony moved here from ecuador a0 years ago and serves traditional south american food from this unusual location. thit‘s a special sauce that we make here. this smells absolutely amazing. it's so moist, the meat. the food is delicious. i work near here and i'm also from ecuador. so is this a bit like a taste of home? it is, that's why i keep coming back. now i'm off to try a new tour that goes behind the scenes at one of new york's must iconic hotels.

historianjoe takes me down to an abandoned tunnel that was used until the late ‘60s as a private route for vips. we're underneath the intersection of 8th ave and 34th st right now. we're heading south towards penn station. what famous people came here? john f kennedy and robert kennedy were here. of course, there are many legends aboutjohn f kennedy. and this would take you out to the platform to penn station. but the most exciting bit is the roof. this view is incredible! besides the chrysler building and the empire state building, and if you look down there you can see the statue of liberty. let's go and see the roof sign. you can see it all over the city, can't you? i can see it actually from the town

where i live in newjersey. the letters are enormous when you get up close. the letters are about 20 feet tall and they are eliminated by leds. the letters are about 20 feet tall and they are illuminated by leds. how many people have touched the sign, joe? you're in a group of less than one dozen people, i'm sure. thank you for bringing me up here. oh, you're welcome. sojessie said to come here to see an orchestra but the address just seems to be a normal block of flats. who is it? hi, it'sjo. hello. hi. are you sam? iam. what's happening here? so this groupmuse, which is a classical music house party. 0k. so come with me. we arrive in the middle of a recital. this is really special. groupmuse is a classical music house party that connects classical musicians

in the area to people who have living rooms or rooftops in the area. it is every night in new york and anyone can host and anyone can attend. the idea is that people make a $10 donation to the musicians, which makes this a much cheaper at night out than an evening at the orchestra. applause to end my hectic day in new york, jessie's fixed me up with a bed for the night. hello, jo. hi. are you the guy that is sorting me somewhere to stay? absolutely, follow me. 0k. it's a cab. oh, it's a luxury liner taxi cab. wait until you see the inside, you will love it. that is lovely. here's some complimentary water for you and here is your official taxi hat. how much does it cost to stay here? $39 a night, that's it. monday through friday, $39, and then on weekends just $49. and so you are allowed to be parked here? yes, nothing i'm doing is illegal.

the only thing i have to do is make sure i follow the parking regulations. i always pick a place that has a beautiful view of the skyline. right then, better get in. it's actually quite comfortable. but very strange. well, good night. jo whalley discovering the secret side to new york. to end this week, we're off to turin in northern italy. this historic city is known as the country's chocolate capital. we sent rajan datar to find out what the chocolatiers are cooking up in time for easter. when you think about the home of chocolate in europe, you probably think about belgium or switzerland, which isjust over the alps over there, but you probably don't think of italy and certainly not turin. well, think again.

so celebrated is turin‘s sweet tooth, there are even organised tours of the city's chocolate shops. and we can try the hot chocolate. this hot chocolate layered with an espresso and cream is a local speciality. it's like a feast, it's like a desert, it's not like a normal coffee. and how many of these could people drink in in one day? 0ne. just one? only one. only in the morning! and to really grasp the story of how this region's chocolate speciality came about, you have to take a journey into the piedemont countryside. it all really began thousands of miles away with a trade blockade in latin america in the late 18th century imposed by napoleon, which restricted supplies of the crucial ingredient of chocolate. the signature chocolate of this region came about really through necessity. because of the higher

price of cocoa beans, they decided to mix it with local hazelnuts. and it proved to be a magic recipe. in fact, it was in this region in the 1960s when the first everjar of what was to become the world's most famous spread was made. but local tastes are far more refined than that. this factory claims to be where the iconic gianduja chocolate was first produced in the mid—19th century by pierre paul caffarel. now1 million of the signature ingots are produced in a day. the beauty about this factory is that a lot of process steps are still very artisan. we are producing chocolate more or less as we've done in the past but of course we combine this with top technology and quality as such is notjust top

ingredient and all this, it is also about the story of the product. who does produce this product? let's say i always refer to the soul of the product. to realise how seriously people here take their trade, you have to go behind the scenes to the self—styled university of chocolate. we clean the cocoa beans and we cut it. we can check the health of the cocoa beans. here in the lab at gobino's factory, it's all about meeting the exact needs of the chocolate connoisseur. all my chocolate are very small sized because i think that people like to eat some different flavours and a lot of chocolate. but you can't stand still in this world. the trick is to find new varieties that attract an ever—changing market. guido should know, the award—winning don of chocolate in turin, a real—life willy wonka and the son of a chocolate artisan. we've this, which is fantastic,

because it is not too strong and is very aromatic. it's a very elegant flavour. we cover it with white chocolate, it was a fantastic result. balsamic, fresh grass, tomatoes. it's a labour of love and far more intricate then you may imagine. cocoa coffee, caramel. guido showed me his sensorial map of chocolate. mushroom. yes. it's interesting, huh? do you think thit‘s art or science? do you think it's art or science? i think it is art and fantasy that needs science to be perfect. the price of seeing chocolate being made first—hand is that you look a little bit silly because you have to put these hats on.

i'll pay that price, it's worth it. woah, look at this stuff! that's nice. and you end up with chocolate. is it important to test these, do you think? yeah. yeah? you need outside opinion. what do you think? wow, the texture is really nice! that's it for this week, but coming up next week... i'll be continuing myjourney here in thailand and heading north to visit the world's first ever elephant hospital. brea kfast. i'll be meeting some of the amazing animals. and don't forget you can join us

on the road by following any of our social media feeds. the details are on your screen now. from me, henry golding, and the rest of the travel show team here in bangkok, thailand, it's goodbye. good morning. if you're a glass half full kind of person you will like this weather forecast, a good deal of dry weather in the story yet again, decent spells of sunshine despite fairweather cloud developing through the day. more of a breeze north and

west and north of the great glen, outbreaks of rain, but generally most will see another dry day, highs of nine—6 team. the weather front in the far north—west will gradually sink steadily south, so by wednesday we will see showery outbreaks of rain, nothing too significant, the winds strengthening, gales on exposed coasts and from a north—easterly direction, driving in a scattering of showers. that will ta ke a scattering of showers. that will take the edge off the feel of things, highs of 16 degrees, but fresher further north, eight to 11 celsius. for the rest of the week it continues to feel cooler for this time of year, some chilly nights and a classic case of sunny spells and scattered showers. a very warm welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to our viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: g7 foreign ministers increase pressure on russia to abandon its support for syria's president. smartphones capture the moment a passenger is forcibly dragged off

an overbooked united airlines flight. one of the security officers involved has been placed on leave. we'll hear from someone who saw it all. more violent anti—government protests in venezuela as the country's political and economic crisis deepens. and a report on the use of the death penalty around the world claims china is hiding the true number of executions it carries out.